Special Issue “New Challenges in Improving the Quality and Safety of Meat Products”

Among the various food items, meat products constitute a significant share in the diets of modern humans. At the same time, there is a growing demand for meat products of a high quality in the regard to their nutritional value, sensory attractiveness, and availability, while ensuring their safety. To meet the above requirements, the industry and researchers are currently focusing their efforts on the identification of innovations in the meat industry aimed towards the processing and design of new products (including functional food).

This Special Issue aims to present recent developments in research exploring the impacts of processing methods on the nutritional value, safety, and other qualities or attributes of meat products. A total of seven papers (six research papers and one review paper), which cover various new trends in research aiming to improve the quality and safety of meat products, are presented in this Special Issue.

The study of Bravo et al. [1] aimed to reduce the use of synthetic additives in traditional frankfurters using murta powder as a strategy to improve the sensory characteristics of this product, with minimal changes in its chemical and nutritional properties. Djekic et al. [2] evaluated grilled pork meat coated with three types of hot sauce in regard to its main food oral processing characteristics using the methods of time–intensity and temporal dominance of pungency sensations, analyzing the pungency descriptors and intensities. They reported that the use of emotion detection software to analyze the faces of panelists during mastication confirmed the increase in non-neutral emotions associated with the increase in pungency intensity. Fundali et al. [3] compared the microbiological safety and sensory qualities of homogenized meat products manufactured with four commercial functional additives. They concluded that all the additives were effective in limiting the growth of Listeria monocytogenes; thus, they can be successfully applied in the meat industry as functional agents affecting the safety of meat products. Augustyńska-Prejsnar et al. [4] presented a study on the replacement of wheat roll in the recipe composition of poultry pâtés with a mixture of hemp, amaranth, and golden flaxseed and assessed the effects of their inclusion on the nutritional value, physical and sensory properties, and safety of the finished product. In the research presented by Govindaswamy et al. [5], a droplet digital PCR combined with the intercalating dye propidium monoazide was established for the quantification of C. coli and C. jejuni in chicken meat rinses. In the review conducted by Karwowska et al. [6], different strategies aiming to improve the nutritious value of fermented meat products were discussed, including the incorporation of bioactive compounds from plant-based foods, the modification of the processing conditions in order to increase the content of bioactive compounds, and the elimination of nitrates, in accordance with the idea of the “clean label”. Karwowska et al. [7] investigated the effect of the addition of acid whey in combination with sodium ascorbate on selected parameters related to proteolysis in uncured dry-fermented sausages.

Although submissions for this Special Issue are now closed, more in-depth research in the field of functional meat products continues to address the challenges that we face today, such as advanced technologies for processing, the adulteration of meat products, and new preservation techniques.